Why a CodaBow®?

CodaBow^®—the family of fine performance bows

We in the CodaBow^® workshop welcome you. The CodaBow^® represents years of careful study and evaluation of history's greatest bows — bows from masters, such as F. Tourte, D. Peccate and J. Tubbs.

Committed to the art of bowmaking, we've united time-honored traditions with the science of today's advanced materials. The result is a bow that not only feels and performs at a level that will please any player, it also produces a sound found only in the finest pernambuco bows — a sound you need to hear to appreciate.

Why perform with a CodaBow^®? For the same reasons musicians have played fine bows for the last 250 years: FEEL, SOUND, AESTHETICS, VALUE.

Then, there are the things that go beyond performance.

Feel

 

Of the factors that go into deciding which bow to purchase, most players weigh performance the most heavily. Whatever else a bow does, it must perform well and predictably. The CodaBow^® has been designed to meet or exceed the performance of bows many times its price.

When you hold it in your hand, it feels like quality. When you put it through its paces, it performs magnificently, whether performing a long legato line or an upbow staccato.

Players, both professional and amateur, agree that the CodaBow^®'s performance characteristics are well beyond its price. They rate the bow's weight, balance, stiffness, and general "feel" as excellent.

Sound

 

Of the three factors that comprise a violinist's "sound" — the violin, the bow and the musician — the bow is certainly the most underestimated.

Many people consider sound differences between bows to be minimal, yet in terms of sound improvement per dollars spent, after adjustment or strings, the single best way to improve sound is to improve the bow.

Coda understands this, and has developed a bow that can make an astonishing improvement in sound.

Rather than using an "off the shelf" composite material — commonly used for such things as tennis rackets and fishing poles — Coda created its own formulation, optimized for its acoustic characteristics. The result is the only engineered material that can rival the best pernambuco.

This is why CodaBow^® will sound better than any other synthetic bow — and better than many excellent pernambuco bows.

Aesthetics

 

A fine bow should not only perform, it should be beautiful to behold. By studying great bows and gathering input from contemporary masters, Coda has produced a bow that's a joy to look at as well as to play.

It's sleek, rich black finish is not only beautiful, it's actually an enhancement of the natural appearance of graphite. From its mountings of the finest sterling silver, to its Moroccan goat skin grip with coin silver winding, the CodaBow^® emphasizes the traditional refinement. The silver "Coda" symbol inlaid in the traditional ebony frog serves as a reminder of the CodaBow^® 's origin.

Value

 

From the beginning, Coda has made every effort to ensure the CodaBow^®'s affordability. As a result, while its performance is superior, the CodaBow^® is by far the least expensive bow of its refinement in existence.

Presently, the CodaBow^® Classic^TM for violin retails for $775 — a price that, at best, would get you a straight commercial German stick which plays and sounds, well, more or less like a straight, commercial German stick.

In contrast, one need only play the CodaBow^® for a minute or two to appreciate just how much it excels above its competition.
In this price range, you expect a bow, not a joy. The CodaBow^® will forever change that expectation.

Beyond Performance

 

Because of its graphite fiber construction, the CodaBow^® Classic^TM family of bows offers benefits beyond those ever offered by traditional fine bows.

• Consistency

• Reliability

• Resiliency

• Economics

• Environmental Impact

 

Consistency

Properly made, composite materials offer consistency unparalleled by wood. That means that composite bows (unlike wood bows) can be truly consistent both within a stick and between sticks.

True consistency in composite materials still requires precise formulas and sophisticated fabrication techniques — artisan factors that Coda strictly employs and adheres to.

Reliability

 

Composite materials by their nature are virtually immune to the changes that temperature and humidity variations typically impart to wood bows.

Resiliency

 

A graphite composite bow is more resistant to fatigue and shock than any wood bow. If made well, it will resist breakage and warping for a lifetime.

Economics

 

The rarity of good pernambuco, the only good wood for bowmaking, makes it — and the bows made from it — expensive. A bowmaker can pay hundreds of dollars just for a good pernambuco bow blank. That doesn't include the many hours to be spent making a quality finished bow (a craft requiring many years of study and practice) — hours that add to the final, finished cost.

In contrast, with a composite bow, the difference in raw material cost plus the fact that the bulk of skilled handwork occurs only once (at the tool-making stage), means that a quality composite bow can be produced at a modest cost.

Environmental Impact

The rarity of good pernambuco is largely the result of taking too many young trees. Indeed, the Brazilian government is faced with the imminent possibility of pernambuco being placed on the Endangered Species List: it's no longer a question of "if," but rather, "when."

If we can make a transition to composites, this issue will largely vanish, since bowmaking is the only human endeavor which relies on pernambuco.

By the way, carbon is one of the most plentiful elements on Earth.